Inside Pigs
Aftermath of heat hinders laying piglets
The trade in piglets seems to be the victim of the bill now that the slaughter rate of pigs has fallen sharply in recent weeks. What is the outlook for trading in the coming week?
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The tropical temperatures that have gripped the Netherlands and other European countries in recent weeks have had a significant impact on piglet sales. Even before the heat hit Europe, the piglet market was struggling due to the corona pandemic. Outbreaks of corona led to temporary closures at several European slaughterhouses and a ban on meat exports to China. As a result, slaughter capacity was drastically reduced.
Heat protocol
The heat triggered the heat protocol, which further reduced slaughter capacity. Delivering pigs turned out to be a difficult puzzle to solve. For many traders, this meant that pigs had to be moved every week and insufficient space became available to lay piglets.
The price picture of piglet quotations in the Netherlands and Europe has shown a sideways movement in recent weeks, but that was all it could be. For this week, the VEZG also recorded unchanged prices for piglets at €39. The unchanged price picture of the VEZG Notierung is also the expectation of the NordWest piglet quotation for week 34.
Market segment
Traders who submitted their expectations for piglet quotations this week do not show a different picture than what the VEZG showed, namely that of unchanged. The DCA BestPigletPrice (BPP) therefore remains for the 4e week in a row with €30 unchanged. The slaughter rate will first have to increase before the BPP can rise, according to the opinion of the majority of piglet traders.